Book I Chapter 1 “The Period”

Plot Summary: The year is 1775, and it is one of extremes. It was the best and worst of times, and an “epoch” or era of many other opposites. Both England and France are ruled by monarchies, and neither are described as perfect in this introduction. England is a superstitious society, and mostly concerns itself with issues coming from America. England is crime-ridden with an especially high number of robberies by highwaymen. France has an inflated economy, constantly producing and spending money. Due to the harsh economic situation, a revolution is brewing under the surface of French society, and those caught committing even small acts of injustice are punished severely.

Topical/historical references in Chapter One Royalty: The two kings with “large jaws” and their queens, one fair, one plain, are the monarchs of England and France - George III and Charlotte Sophia (England), Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (France) Visions, spirits, and spectres: - Mrs. Southcott was a religious visionary - The “Cock-lane ghost” was an 18th century poltergeist Dickens also briefly discusses the “spirits of this very year past,” meaning those spirits raised by D.D. Home during the writing of Tale. “Congress of British subjects in America” Refers to the Continental Congress, which sent a petition of grievances to the British Parliament in 1775

Literary Devices: Parallelism: The opening words form a good example of parallelism--the repetition, for emphasis, of a grammatical structure. Dickens uses parallelism to balance opposing pairs, making contrasts and comparisons. Throughout the novel, there is ample use of duals and pairs, especially with characters and even chapter titles. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." (5). Paradox: The opening lines could also be labeled as paradoxes. Although the opposing words and phrases may seem ridiculous, Dickens is commenting that this age, and perhaps all ages, have both good times and bad.  Dickens uses this theme to create universal appeal for the audience.  He talks about every age having "wisdom" and "foolishness," "light" and "darkness," "hope" and "despair“ (5). Anaphora: An anaphora is the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs to balance two completely opposite ideas, show an equal match in the struggle between each idea, demonstrate tension between opposites (or doubles, or even groups of people, like nobility vs. commoners) and show a constant state of struggle between opposite ideas. "It was… it was…" (5). Personification: Fate is referred to as a Woodman, and Death as a Farmer. Both of these “characters” are working together towards the creation of one of the central pieces of the Revolution: The Guillotine.

Also watch for these literary devices: Allusion Allegory Antithesis Juxtaposition Euphemism Repetition (anaphora) Symbolism Shift in tone/narrative stance

Some references you may not have understood… Blunderbuss François-Jean Lefebvre de la Barre: Tortured and beheaded for not saluting a religious procession.

Essential Quote “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” (5)